1. Field of the Invention
The present invention provides a searching system, and more particularly, a searching system for searching desired files and their file paths on a hard disk of a personal computer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Files in a computer's hard disk are arranged in a hierarchical tree structure to form a directory system. Access to files is often managed through use of a FAT (file allocation table). This directory system consists of a root directory at the topmost point of the tree structure which may also serve as the label of the hard disk. A plurality of subdirectories are located subordinate to the root directory within which are the computer files. Each file and directory connects to its parent directory and adjacent subdirectories in the FAT through a specific path pointer.
To locate a particular file, the computer system sequentially searches each path in the tree-like structure of the directory system of the hard disk. The general search program can also find adjacent subdirectories and the path pointer of parent directories in the FAT. In this way, desired files are found with all associated parent hierarchical directories.
The efficiency of computer systems is impaired by performance of time-consuming mechanical procedures involving reading data from or writing data to a hard disk and sequential data searches. Due to the present complexity and increased storage capacity of hard disks, users may become overwhelmed by the large numbers of files and not be informed about detailed path information or directory names. In a prior art searching operation, even for a very small file, the user would have to perform a time-consuming mechanical search operation on the large hard disk that would waste time and cause potential damage to the magnetic head of the hard disk.